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"speaker_name": "Mr. Muturi",
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"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, for giving me this opportunity to say a few words about this Vote of the Ministry of Roads and Public Works. While commending the Minister for the announcement about the equipment that he says his Ministry has purchased, I want to caution that we have been told this story for the last two years. I hope that my good friend, Mr. Nyachae, is serious that the equipment is actually here. If so, I would like to ask that it should be stationed at the regional centres, so that we, in the rural areas, can begin as agencies to hire and make use of them. It is not meant to stay at the Port of Mombasa or at the Ministry's headquarters. The previous equipment that was bought in the past, in my view, was really not distributed on the basis of needs. It appears to me that the distribution was based on the caprice of those charged with the responsibility of distributing them. July 18, 2006 PARLIAMENTARY DEBATES 2145 Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, something else that I wish to commend the Ministry on, and I hope this happens with immediate effect, is the policy that road construction continues or takes place 24 hours a day, everyday of the week. This is something that we have seen all over the world. There is no reason why it cannot happen here in Kenya. It disgusts that when, indeed, there is very little traffic, particularly vehicles, road construction stops in the night when, indeed, one would expect that is the best time that a lot of works could be going on. This should not just be within the urban areas, it should be everywhere. It is a good policy. I want to laud the Ministry for doing that and hope that it will be implemented with speed. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, the policy of having road works commence is one of the most tedious that I have seen in this country. This is because it starts from surface designs, thorough designs, refined designs, procurement, award of tenders, and so on. It is simply mind boggling. Now that we passed the Public Procurement and Disposal Bill, which as I am aware, has already received Presidential assent, is it possible that the Government moves with speed to ensure that the Minister for Finance operationalises it? The date of commencement is still in abeyance. It was left to be determined by the Minister for Finance. Indeed, a lot of these works that we may be lauding the Minister for will require some serious procurement done in a most transparent manner. If, indeed, the law that we enacted will be followed it will lessen the bureaucracy, processes and procedures, that we have seen. There is need that the Minister for Roads and Public Works liaises with his counterpart the Minister for Finance, the very difficult Mr. Kimunya--- I am saying \"difficult\" because as we spoke about bursaries this afternoon, if he was here, he should have heard the noise that was made. He should take quick corrective action regarding bursaries. I hope that even with regard to the operationalisation of the Public Procurement and Disposal Act, he moves with speed. I am saying this because there has been a lot of laxity and/or lethargy on the part of the Minister to ensure that law is put in place in a more enlightened format that we passed. It may well be that we borrowed a few aspects of the existing procurement regulations, but, as we all appreciate, they have been so tedious that they have been to, a very large extent, the cause for the delays. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, in this Vote, we have seen several roads being allocated funds. We are now moving towards the end of July. If no procurement has been put in place for the commencement of works on those roads then even as we say we support this Vote excitedly, we will come here in June, next year and say nothing has happened to them because they will be waiting for designs, surveys, refined designs and so on before the commencement of the actual work on them. We do not want to come here and be told that utilisation of funds in this Budget has not started. I would, therefore, want to call on the Minister to ensure that procurement of various works, on all these roads, commences at the very latest in the next two months. There is no reason why that should not happen. I may actually want to disclose my interest. For the first time since Independence, a road that passes my constituency has been allocated some little money. Ena-Ishiara-Meru Road, at least, has been allocated some Kshs176 million."
}